Victoria GoodeConsultant Partner

I am a Consultant Partner at Lewis Silkin and a member of our Employment and Tax, Reward and Incentives teams.

My practice is diverse. I advise employers of various sizes and from various sectors on all aspects of employee remuneration. The type of issues I deal with include: employment tax and national insurance compliance; drafting and implementing annual and long term cash schemes; advising on and drafting equity incentive plans; the UK tax and social security implications of internationally mobile employees; and corporate governance issues such as how to structure remuneration so that it is compliant with regulatory requirements particularly for the financial services sector. I also advise employees and members of partnerships on the implications of their reward or termination packages

I am a regular speaker and commentator on both employment tax and Remuneration Code issues for newspapers and legal journals and regularly present at Lewis Silkin events. I wrote the Practical Law practice notes on the Remuneration Code for banks, building societies and investment firms and the AIFM Remuneration Code for alternative investment fund managers. I also update the chapter on Termination Payments in Tolley’s Tax Planning annually.

Tax, Reward & Incentives

My particular areas of focus are:

Advising employers on their tax and NIC obligations in relation to pay and benefits including employment status and intermediaries; employment termination; benefits in kind and expenses (including salary sacrifice and flexible benefit schemes) and providing cash allowances in lieu of pension contributions;

Drafting and implementing annual and long term cash bonus plans often with an international dimension;

Advising employers on their PAYE, corporate tax and social security obligations in relation to internationally mobile employees and drafting and advising on tax equalisation policies;

Drafting and advising on both non-tax advantaged share and option plans (including EMI option plans) and tax advantaged plans; and

Financial Services

From a corporate governance perspective, I specialise in advising financial services firms on the EU and UK regulatory issues relating to remuneration, in particular the implications of the various EU Directives and the UK Remuneration Codes which impose restrictions on the structure and in some cases quantum of remuneration. The type of issues I deal with include:

Identifying “Code Staff”

Advising on guaranteed and buy out bonuses

Structuring variable remuneration including dealing with the bonus cap